The Mockingjay's Apology
by cocopup
Summary: After Katniss and Peeta have a baby, Katniss nearly drinks herself to death. She is rushed to a hospital, and after hearing nothing for weeks, Peeta believes that she is dead. Almost four years later, he is continuing his life when an 'unpleasant' surprise comes up. *Follow this story! I promise the story is much better than the summary!*
1. Chapter 1

***Ok, so this is my first Hunger Games FanFiction, and I got the idea to do a really long story, and this idea came to me...so ya. I hope you like this. If you don't, that's fine, but I think this story might actually be good. :)**

**I'm going to stop rambling so you can read!***

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CHAPTER ONE _(Flashback)_

Peeta's P.O.V.

_"Katniss! Stop!" I yell, smacking the bottle from her hands. The bottle of beer flies from her grasp, and hits our bedroom wall with a loud smash. The liquid spills around the shards of glass, and I cringe._

_Katniss turns towards me, her stormy gray eyes blazing. "What are you doing?" She demands, her jawed clenched. Her dark hair, once-beautiful, is stringy, and tangled. It hangs around her face, and always smells like alcohol. That's how I know when she's been drinking. Katniss always manages to get it on her hair, and I smell it on her, even if she brushes her teeth to hide the stench. She used to smell so wonderful-like the flowers in the meadow we used to spend so much time in. Now Katniss is an angry, sad alcoholic. All because of one little girl._

_"You have a two-month-old daughter in your life!" I yell. I know I'll regret yelling at her later, but I feel so infuriated right now, it's all I can do is yell. "You need to find a way to control yourself!"_

_Katniss shrinks away from me, and slumps on the edge of our bed. "You don't understand..." She mumbles, barely audible. Her hand comes up to her face to wipe away the tears that start to fall._

_"Of course I understand. We have a daughter, and you are still nervous about being a mother." I feel calmer now. My hands have stopped shaking, and my skin doesn't feel as hot as it did when I was yelling._

_"She's your daughter. Not mine."_

_"Katniss, what are you talking about? Heather is your daughter!" I exclaim, bewildered. I can feel my anger coming back. How can she reject her daughter like that?_

_"You wanted her, not me." Katniss looks up at me, accusation in her tone._

_I shake my head, and run a hand through my hair. I let out some hot air from my lungs, and face Katniss. "How can you say that? She is you daughter! We made her! You are her mother!" My voice starts out calm, but then it gradually gets louder, and I see Katniss press into the bed to get further away from me._

_Katniss shakes her head a little bit, and I think she is shaking her head 'no' at me, but she puts a hand on her forehead, and leans foreword. I can see that she is swaying a bit, and she looks dizzy._

_"Katniss? Are you alright?" I had caught her drinking when I got home, but she hadn't drank enough to be drunk._

_"I think...something is...I might..." Katniss tries to stand up to grab my arm, but she falls, and I catch her just before she hits the floor._

_She feels so limp in my arms..."Katniss...Katniss!" She's unresponsive. My anger turns to worry as I slip one arm under her leg, and my other arm under her shoulders._

_Then I hear: Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!_

My eyes snap open from the flashback. I'm gazing out of my bedroom window, looking over the backyard.

Four years. I think. It's been almost four years since she went to that hospital and didn't come back.

"Daddy!" Heather's voice interrupts my thoughts. My frown turns to a smile when I hear my daughter's voice.

I unlock the door for her, and she comes bustling in. Her dark hair has one messy braid on one side of her head, while the other side of her head has the rest of her hair thrown over her shoulder.

"Fix my hair, Daddy! I don't wanna wear pigtails!" She demands, stamping the floor with her little boots.

"Why don't you just let Delly make you another hairstyle?" I ask her softly. She is definitely a mini Katniss. Just as stubborn, and just as bad-mooded.

"I wanna wear it normal!" Heather cries, plumping down on my bed. Her arms fold across her chest, and she sits there, with a deep frown on her face.

"Please don't frown; it's not pretty when you frown." I plead.

Heather just rolls her eyes and stares out the bedroom and down the hall where Delly is approaching.

"Heather, Sweetheart, it's time to go to daycare." Delly says sweetly when she steps into the room.

"I'm not gonna go to school lookin' like this!" Heather states stubbornly. Delly and I cover our mouths to keep from bursting out laughing. "It's not funny!" Heather says, but a smile smile is playing at the corner of her lips.

"Heather, please let me finish your hair." Delly holds out her hand to the little girl, but Heather just tightens her arms around her body, turns her head and pouts.

"I'm only gonna go if Daddy does my hair like Mommy's."

Delly's hand drops to her side, and her smile twitches a bit. I can tell she feels a little hurt and uncomfortable with what Heather said. "Heather, you know you can't do-"

"It's ok, Delly. I'll do it." I cut her off, and move in front of her. "Just this once." I add on quickly when she purses her lips. She nods and heads out of the room, closing it behind her.

"Ok, Heather, turn around." I instruct my daughter. She turns around so that I can start on her hair.

"Daddy, can you tell me about Mommy?" Heather asks quietly. She knows I don't like talking about Katniss, but she's almost four years old, and she's getting really curious. It's only fair to tell her about Katniss because she is her mother. But I'll only tell Heather about Katniss before the alcohol.

"You know your mother had the most amazing voice when she sang. When we would go to the meadow that Delly and I take you to, she would sing as she picked flowers, and all the birds would stop to listen to her."

"I never heard her sing..." Heather sighs, fiddling with the end of the braid I just finished braiding. She's turned towards me now, her big blue eyes filled with tears. I pull her into my arms, and her head rests on my chest as she cries.

"Shhh...it's ok..." I whisper into her hair.

"Why did she leave?" Heather looks up at me, and it crushes me to see her look so sad. "Was it because of me? Did she hate me?"

"No, no." I say quickly. "She loved you very much." And as I say that, I wonder if that is really true. Or if it really is a lie.

***So there's the first chapter! If you have any questions, or if you maybe noticed something, PLEASE review! Constructive criticism helps! I want to be a better writer! Well anyway, thank you so much for reading, and a HUGE THANK YOU if you added this story to your favorites/followed it!**

xoxo,

Cocopup


	2. Chapter 2

**So I originally had the first chapter of this story on Wattpad, and I started to write the second chapter, but I didn't finish it. I was hoping to get some reviews on the first chapter on Wattpad, but only my friend, who I see pretty much everyday had anything to day about it. I knew I was going to put this story up on FanFiction all along, but I just wanted some feedback on how the story was so far :) Thank you to the people who reviewed, and/or followed! Here is the next chapter! Enjoy!**

"Peeta, I thought you said you weren't going to bring Katniss up anymore." Delly says, leaning on the kitchen counter, her arms crossed. She is frowning, and I can tell she is cross with me.

"Delly, I don't know if it is such a good idea to keep going on with this. I can't just let her grow up without knowing anything about her mother. It's just not fair." I state, standing by my point.

A few weeks ago, Delly and I had agreed to stop mentioning Katniss around Heather so that she would except Delly as her new mother. Delly and I aren't married, but we are very close, and she is the only mother-figure Heather has in her life right now.

"Peeta, this is ridiculous. We agreed on this-"

"Yeah, I know. But now I'm ending our agreement." I interrupt her.

"Peeta, what if she goes to school one day, and they ask her about Katniss, and all she can say is: 'My mother is dead because she was an alcoholic, and she hated me." Delly's voice sounds so cold and persuading that I almost want to give in. I know that she wants to get married to me, and have Heather call her 'Mom', but I just can't...it's too much...

"Don't you think it would be so much easier for her to say: "My mom and dad were bestfriends when they were little, and fell in love, and got married." Delly comes closer to me, her blue eyes pleading with me. She grabs my hand in hers, and traces little circles on my palm. "That's us, Peeta. You and me; we would be so happy. She's still little, it will catch on."

I pull my hand away, and turn away from my best friend. I don't want to see the hurt look on her face. "Delly, I just...can't. Katniss and I were married-"

"Yeah, you _were_ married; you're a widow now." Delly presses harder, placing her hand on my cheek.

"No, Delly...can we just talk about this later?" I plead, starting to get frustrated with her. "You know I care about you, but just not in that way." My hand closes around hers, and places it back at her side.

She looks up at me, with tears in her eyes. "I...I guess you're right." She steps away from me, and grips the counter so tight, her knuckles turn white. "You still love her." Delly's voice is strained. Tears start falling down her cheeks.

My fists clench a little bit. This is selfish. She can't just expect me to let go of Katniss so easily. She was the love of my life, and now Delly is trying to make me _and_ my daughter forget her.

"Delly, this isn't right. You know I loved Katniss, why are you acting as if I can just forget about her!" I can hear my voice raising, and Delly looks a little scared. "You have no right to just force yourself on me and my daughter! I invited you to stay with us because I need help, not another relationship."

Her face fell, and the tears started streaming down faster. "I know! I'm trying to help! I just think it's not fair that that bitch just drank herself to death because she had a daughter!" Delly regained confidence, as she began to yell back at me. "She left without getting to know her daughter! She left before she even said 'I love you' to little Heather!"

I narrow my eyes at her as she continues to insult Katniss. Why am I letting her talk shit about my wife! Is it really shit? Or is it true?

Delly takes a step towards me, her hands balled into fists by her side. "I know you can protect yourself, but I don't know about Heather. Do you really want your daughter to grow up knowing that her own mother never cared about her? Or do you want her to forget about all of the hurtful past, and restart?"

Right now, I am so mad, I can just smash something. It's not easy to just 'restart'. She has no idea what Katniss and I went through. "Delly, its not easy." I say as softly as possible. "I still have vivid dreams of what happened, and no matter what, even though Heather was young when it happened, she's not just going to 'forget' about her mother." Even though I'm not yelling, my voice is getting harder, and sharper. "She's my daughter, and Katniss is her mother. Heather is still going to ask about her, even if we never mention her again. She's going to get more curious." I point out. Delly's mouth opens, then closes, as if she is stumped about what to say.

"Fine. Just do what you want." She says quietly. I watch her as she leaves the kitchen, wiping away fresh tears. I lean against the counter, and jump a little when I hear the front door close loudly.

"Dammit." I swear under my breath. I need to catch up to her before she gets to far away. Regret and guilt instantly spreads through me as I pull on my coat. Right as I'm about to leave the house, the phone rings. I sigh, and pick it up. Minutes are ticking by. Minutes that I _should_ be using to find Delly.

"Hello?" I ask into the phone.

"Are you done?" I hear Madge's voice ask me. Confusion covers up my guilt towards the argument Delly and I just had.

"Excuse me?" I ask. I hear Madge sigh on the other end of the line.

"I was walking the Heather and Madilyn home, and I could hear you and Delly screaming at each other."

"Oh My Gosh!" I exclaim, my eyes widening. I hope they didn't really hear what we were yelling about. But we were quite loud. "How...I mean...Are the girls...I'm really sorry." I stumble stupidly over my words. I would be crushed if Heather heard exactly what we were yelling about.

"Luckily they didn't hear exactly what you were saying. I just told Heather that she was going to have a little playdate with Madilyn, and took them back to my house." Madge says simply, without a sound of irritation in her voice.

I breathe a sigh of relief. "I am so grateful, Madge. I will come and get Heather as soon as I can, I just have to do one thing-"

"You have to go out and find her, don't you?" She asks.

"You are so good at this." I say, smiling a little.

"I know." I can tell she is smiling by her tone, but I refocus myself back to the topic of finding Delly. "But how exactly did you know?" I ask, twisting the phone cord nervously in my fingers.

"I saw her running away through my kitchen window. I was about to stop her, but she was too fast, and she disappeared from view in a few seconds...I''m really sorry, Peeta."

"Don't be. It's my fault." I readjust myself, so that I'm standing up straight. "I'll be at your house to pick up Heather soon...as soon as I find Delly." I say the last part silently. My mind keeps going back to our argument, and every time I see Delly's hurt face, it makes me want to punch myself. How could I be so cruel?

"Listen, Peeta. You probably shouldn't come and get Heather until you and Delly figure things out. When you find her, you should probably go home, and talk to her...nicely. Promise me you won't yell."

I can't help but feel a little angry with Madge. She was making me make all of the bigger moves. Delly was the one who started the argument, she shouldn't have walked out in the first place. Madge and I had become better friends when she and Gale got married, since Gale was Katniss's best friend. I trust her, and I know that she is right.

"Peeta, take a deep breath." Damn this woman is good.

My shoulders loosen as I breathe in deeply, then let the air go.

"I know, you probably think that you shouldn't have to be the one who apologizes, but in this case, this is your problem. You know that Delly is sensitive, and you really hurt her. All she needs is an apology, and a hug. Then you two need to talk about what's going on." Madge's voice is so calm and moving, and my anger immediately leaves my body.

"Thank you, Madge. I will do that."

"Bye." She says, and I hang up.

Madge's soothing voice is still in my head when I head outside into to the cool, crisp October air. The sun is beginning to set, and I let the last rays of it's warmth warm me up all the way until I reach the forest. I didn't see Delly on my over here, so she must be in the forest. I take a deep breath, and head further into the trees, letting the argument slip out of my mind, and the darkness consume me.

**As I was saying in the author's note at the beginning of this chapter, I pretty much already had these first two chapters written before I posted them. I haven't written the next chapters yet, so please be patient because I have some projects and tests coming up. I'll try to post at least once a week, and the chapters will probably be coming out on Sundays or late on Saturdays, until summer, but unfortunately, there are no promises :( Once again, thank you for reading, and I would love to hear what you have to day about the story so far! If you could leave a review for me, that would be awesome! Thank you!**

-Cocopup


	3. Chapter 3

(Peeta's P.O.V.)

The dry, dead leaves crunch under my feet as I walk further into the forest. My breath comes out in white clouds in front of me as I breath. The sun is going down quickly, and I know I must find Delly soon. It's dangerous in the woods at night; There are dangerous animals in here, and it would be even worse at night because it gets really cold.

I have no idea what I'm going to say to Delly. I know I should apologize, and I will, but there are just so many other things we need to talk about. I love Delly as a friend, and I know there could be something else, but I don't think that I'm ready to move on from Katniss...and I don't think Heather is ready to, either. But maybe a new relationship is just what I need to get past her-

"Peeta..." Delly's voice startles me, and I take a step back, looking around for where her voice came from. I find her leaning against a tree a couple of feet away from where I'm standing.

I walk towards her, and she takes a deep breath. Her blue eyes are watery and red, and her bare arms are wrapped around her frail body. She looks freezing, but her expression reads as sad and hurt, not cold. "Delly, take my jacket." I insist, shrugging it off, and handing it to her. She pushes it away, and makes her way into my arms. I feel myself hug her back, and rest my chin on top of her head.

My hand rubs circles on her back, trying to comfort her as she cries into my chest. "Shhh...Delly, it's ok." I say in my softest voice.

"No, it's not!" Delly exclaims, pulling away from me. "I had no right to say that. I'm really sorry, Peeta, I never want to fight with you like that again."

I shake my head, and run a hand through my hair. "Delly, I think you might be right..."

"Peeta, if this has anything to do with what I said-" She begins, but I cut her off.

"No, I think I just need help moving past...Katniss, and then we'll see." I expected Delly to smile because after all, isn't this just what she wanted? Instead, her face remained blank, but she nodded anyway. "We should talk when we get home..." I say, uncertainly.

No words again, Delly just nods, and begins to walk back. And I follow her, hoping I made the right decisions.

"...and then Madi said that she was going to bring her puppy in for show and tell tomorrow, but her mom said that she couldn't because there aren't any pets allowed at school!" Heather says, frowning slightly. "I don't think that's very fair. Why can we have class pets, but we can't bring any of our own pets?"

Delly smiles sweetly at Heather before answering her question. "Well, puppies are different than hamsters, Heather. They are bigger, and tend to cause more trouble. And plus, they are way too cute to keep in a classroom; you and your friends would get so distracted!" Heather laughs at this, and then scoops up a spoonful of soup.

"Daddy, what were you and Delly fighting about today?" Heather asks sweetly.

My heart starts pounding in my chest, and my palms get sweaty. I rub my hands together, and sigh, looking down at my bowl of noodle soup. Before I can open my mouth, I hear Delly start to explain things out to Heather.

"We were arguing about whether or not we should get you a puppy for your birthday." Delly looks at me, and I smile back, gratefully.

Heather frowns, and I worry that she won't believe Delly. "Why were you yelling so loud?"

"Because I really don't want to be tripping over a little dog while I'm cooking, and Delly thinks you should have one to make you feel better when you are sad." I reply smoothly.

Heather's frown deepens a little. "But that seems like a silly thing to argue so loudly about." She presses on further. _This kid is so smart._ I think to myself.

"That's why we were laughing about it afterwards." Delly smiles widely, and I smile too, hoping Heather will buy it.

"Ohhh..." She sighs, finally able to figure it out. I relax in my chair, knowing she won't ask any more questions about our fight. Meanwhile, Heather starts bouncing in her seat, look the happiest I've seen her in a while. "Can I have a puppy? Can I have a puppy? Can I have a puppy? Can I have a puppy?" She starts asking the same question over and over like a kid on a sugar high.

I look at Delly, and sigh. "Yes, you can have a puppy. Now finish your soup. And no more questions for tonight." I end our conversation just like that.

"YAY! A PUPPY!" Heather screams. "Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!" She runs around the table hugging us, with a huge smile on her face.

I shoot Delly a look that says _look what we've done._ Delly just smiles back, and shrugs her shoulders, and we both laugh.

"Peeta, Heather wants to hear the story of Katniss, she refuses to got to sleep." Delly informs me, walking into the living room. I get up from my spot on the couch, and place the book I was reading on the coffee table in front of me.

"No problem. You just sit tight, I'll be back soon." I head upstairs, and into my daughter's bedroom. Heather is sitting on her bed, admiring a picture of her mom. The sight pulls at my heart a little, but I just brush the emotion away, and sit down next to Heather.

"Did she like dogs?" She asks innocently, not taking her eyes off of the photo. I know Heather doesn't mean to upset me, but I can't help but feel upset at the question. I can't get away from Katniss. There are memories of her everywhere. no matter how much she hurt me when she wouldn't care for Heather after she was born, I just can't help but miss her...she was the love of my life.

"No. She never had time to. She was to busy loving you and me." I brush Heather's soft dark hair back behind her ear, and kiss her forehead. All of the happier memories of Katniss start flooding back into my head, and I start to tear up a bit. I'm struggling to keep my voice steady, but I keep telling Heather about Katniss. "She had the most beautiful voice, you know." A tear fell down my cheek as I remembered her voice. "She sang to you sometimes. And before you were born, when we went into the meadow or the forest, when she sang, all the birds would stop and listen to her."

Heather looks at me with tears in her own eyes. "Why did she go? Why did she leave us?" Her lips wobbles, tears start falling from her eyes. I pull her onto my lap, and rock her back and forth.

"She was sick." More tears fall down my face, but I keep going, even though it hurts. "She is in a better place now."

"Daddy, can you sing me what she used to sing to me?" Heather asks. She looks so small, ans so pitiful, that I can't say no...

"You don't want to hear me sing." I laugh, trying to lighten the moment. It wasn't completely a joke though, I am an awful singer.

I feel Heather's body shake against mine as she laughs with me. "PLEEAASE!" She whines.

"Fine!" I sigh. "but if your ears are hurting all night, don't come crying to me." Heather just laughs, and crawls out of my lap, and under her blankets. I tuck her in before I sit up straight, ready to start singing. "Are you ready?" I grin at her._  
_

"Just go already!" Heather presses, impatiently.

"_Deep in the meadow, under the wilow_

_ A bed of grass, a soft green pillow-"_

"Ok! That's enough! That's enough!" Heather squeals, covering her head with her pillow.

"Aww, it wasn't that bad, and you know it!" I tease her. She removes the pillow from her head, and sits up.

"You're right...it was HORRIBLE!" She falls back on her pillow, shrieking with laughter.

"Oh, you're gonna get it!" I laugh, and tickle her. She kicks wildly, laughing and trying to tell me to stop. When I finally stop tickling her, she leans back on her pillow, breathing hard. "Are you tired now, Heather?" I ask, a little out of breath.

"Yes..." She says softly, her eyes closing. I lean forward to neaten up her strewn covers, and kiss her on the forehead.

"Goodnight, Baby Girl."

**HUGE apology about not updating in while! My computer was broken, and then I went on a trip for 3 weeks, and wasn't able to get it to work again until I got back!**

**Thanks for sticking with me though! More hopefully coming soon!**

**-Cocopup**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry if this is sloppy! I didn't really have a lot of time to check it over again because A.) I am super busy, and B.) I REALLY wanted to get another chapter out for you guys/girls since it's been long enough since you've seen anything new from me!**

**Enjoy!**

Peeta's P.O.V.

I crawl into bed, truly exhausted. I didn't bother to change my clothes, just slip out of my shoes, and climb under the covers. My mind is swimming with thoughts. Heather's birthday is in two weeks, and I need to order some more supplies soon to make sure they get here in time for me to make her cake. Delly still seems off, even though I had a conversation with her right before I came up here. She seems to be leaning away from me.

I turn onto my back with one arm beneath my head, and the other resting on my stomach. My words hurt her, I know, but…I just can't seem to understand what else is going on with her…?

My mattress all of a sudden seems very uncomfortable, and I shift again, this time onto my side. My nose is closer to the pillow this time, and as I breath in deeply, I can still smell Katniss on it. I can feel my eyes watering up as I clench the sheets in pain. My heart stings, and I just want her back here in my arms again. No matter how much she has hurt us…

A creak reverberates through the bedroom as Delly appears in the doorway. Her long blonde hair is brushed out, and thrown over her left shoulder. The moonlight coming through the window seems to brighten her eyes, and I shudder because she looks truly beautiful.

"Peeta?" She has a strong sense of concern in her voice that I can hear clearly. "Are you alright? You've been crying…"

I place my hand on my cheek, and indeed they are wet with fresh tears I haven't even noticed. My hands find eachother, and begin to work. "Right…I was just remembering Katniss, that's all." I try to stay strong, but my voice quivers a bit, and I can tell that Delly noticed.

"Oh, Sweetheart." She walks up to me, and sits down on the bed while pulling me into a tight embrace. I can feel her lips on my head as she kisses me soothingly, and I cry into her nightshirt. "Let it out…"

"Delly, I'm so sorry. I've been so rude." I say when the sobbing stops. "All you've done for me is be so kind, and so helpful, but I still can't get over Katniss to see you in a different way…it's stupid, I know." My gaze drops to my lap, and Delly reaches for my hand, her other hand on my shoulder. I look back up at her clear blue eyes.

"Peeta, make whatever choice you want. I'm your best friend, I will support whatever decisions you make further on in life. I know I said that I wanted a different relationship with you, but not if it's forced. Not if you aren't in love with me, but Katniss."

There is no sternness in her voice, but comfort. And I do feel comforted. Comforted that I don't have to force my way through tough decisions, and comforted that I won't have to end up hurting Delly.

"Peeta…I'm leaving."

My heart nearly stops as I look up at Delly, confused, and worried. "What? Why?!" My body is starting to shake, and my heart is racing full speed. She can't leave. No, she can't! I won't let her! I can't do this on my own! I need her!

"Not for forever. Just a couple of weeks, I guess." Delly says quickly, clearly trying not to make me worry. "I promise I'll come back! I'm just going over to District 4 to visit Annie to see how she's doing with her son. Peeta, please calm down. I don't want you to have a-"

I break her off by pulling her into a long, deep kiss. She is tense for a couple of seconds, but then she slowly begins to melt into me. Her lips are smooth and soft, and I place my hand on the small of her back to bring her closer to me. I try to lean forward, to deepen the kiss, but I can tell that Delly is holding back.

Delly pulls back a little, and by then, my body is on fire, and my heart is racing still. I'm not shaking anymore, but I feel like my body is on fire. Could this maybe work? Can we really be togerther not as friends, but as a couple?

"Peeta…are you sure you want to do this?" Delly asks, calmly. Her eyes are wide, and her cheeks flushed, but she seems content. I think about all of the sweet memories I have made with Katniss: many picnics in the meadow, learning to hunt from her, cooking with her, baking with her…the day I proposed to her, and the day she became my wife. I am about to pull away from Delly when I remember all of the bad memories after Heather was born. How Katniss ruined the news of her pregnancy by claiming she could never love our child because…because…No. I will not think of Katniss anymore when I make my own life decisions. She is long gone. And it needs to stay that way.

I nod, grabbing her hand, and pull her towards me so that she falls on my chest. It's time to forget about Katniss, and move on. No more tears. No more holding back becasuse of what she did. "Delly, I'm positive."

I wake up with my arm around Delly's bare shoulder, and the memory of last night comes back, smacking me in the face hard. My lips curve into a smile as I recall how much we had made of the night.

I kiss her shoulder lightly, to wake her up. "Morning, Sleepy Head." I murmur as she turns towards me with a tired look. I plant a kiss on her forehead before getting up to shower and then change into some clean clothes.

"Delly, would you mind taking Heather to school today?" I ask just before heading into the bathroom. One of my hands is resting on the door frame, and the other hand is resting on the doorknob.

Delly sits up, and sighs while throwing her head back to look at the ceiling. When she meets my gaze again, I can see the sadness in her eyes. "Peeta, last night was great, but I wasn't kidding about going to District 4."

My grasp on the doorknob tightens until my knuckle turns white. How could she? After everything that happened last night! I thought she would change her mind, and decide not to go after all.

"Peeta, you need some distance from love. And I need some distance from you." She said the last part quietly, as if ashamed.

I can feel myself tense up, and my vision starts to blur. Flashes of red and white dance across my vision as a flashback begins to take place. "I've waited for almost four years…" I say harshly, my teeth clenched. "Is four years not a long enough distance from love?" Delly jumps up from the bed, and grabs my arms to steady me.

"Peeta, you need to calm down; you could get hurt-" She begins, but I push her roughly against the wall. She seems startled, and tries to break free of my grasp, but I hold on tightly.

"Peeta! Stop it! You're hurting me!" She cries, tears falling from her eyes. I can tell my hold on her is tight, and I am fighting myself inside of the hijacked Peeta to let her go. This time, his will is too strong for me, and I can't stop him.

"NO!" He yells, bringing his face close to hers. "I will not let that mutt, Katniss ruin this for us anymore!" His lips go crashing down onto Delly's way too hard. She squirms beneath us, but she can't slip away. Hijacked Peeta's hands start roaming her body. They go from her shoulders to her waist, to her thigh. I'm screaming at myself to stop, but I keep seeing visions of Katniss and mutts, and it's all too much.

"Peeta!" Delly shrieks loudly. All of a sudden, a pair of arms grasp me harshly, and throw me on the floor. I try to throw a punch at my attacker, but instead, they punch my in the jaw, and I go down. I grab my jaw as I try to scramble up, but I'm like a drunk person, and can't manage to get back up on my feet. My head starts pounding so hard that I can see black spots dancing around my vision.

But right before I become unconscious, I hear a little girl's voice cry out.

Peeta's P.O.V.

I wake up to find that I am on the couch. There are about four pairs of eyes staring at me, and I try to sit up only to find that I have a crashing headache. I rub my head, and lean back on the pillow set beneath me. "What happened?" I ask groggily.

"Daddy!" Heather, who has tear stains on her cheeks, runs over to me, and hugs me tightly. "Daddy! Are you ok? I was so scared because G-Gale punched you hard!" Heather blubbered against my chest. I finally recall all of the details of what happened earlier, and my heart ached for my daughter. I look up at Delly, who also is crying.

"Delly, I'm so sorry." I begin, but she just turns away, and begins to walk towards the kitchen. My heart sinks even lower in my stomach, and I lower my eyes to Heather, who is laying on my chest, sucking her thumb as she tears roll silently down her face. I feel so awful for what I have done, words can not express my feelings, and I just want things to be right again.

"Peeta, that was a pretty close call." Gale steps closer to me, looking down at me harshly. "You could have seriously injured someone-"

_"There was no need to punch me-"_ I say with my teeth clenched tightly. He did not need to knock me out in front of my four year old daughter. She should not have even been in the room at the time.

"You were _raping_ your best friend-"

"It wasn't me, it was him." I say, trying to stay calm, but my voice was beginning to shake with anger; along with the rest of my body.

Gale threw his arms up in exasperation. "Who was it then, Peeta? A ghost that possessed your body? You need to take some fault for your actions during your flashbacks!"

Haymitch, who is sitting quietly in a chair next to the couch, stands up, and takes Heather's hand gently in his own. "Boy, you need to learn how to control your anger." He then took my daughter away from the living room, and upstairs to her bedroom.

I manage to bare the pain in my head to stand up and face Gale. His dark gray eyes are as stormy as ever, and his eyebrows are deeply furrowed in anger.

"The Capitol hijacked me, and I couldn't do anything about that. Hijacked-Peeta comes out whenever I have flashbacks, Gale. I try to fight them, but sometimes he's too strong for me."

Gale rolls his eyes, and throws his head back as he begins pacing around the room. "Do you know how ridiculous you sound right now?" He challenges me, eyes narrowing, finger pointing. "Maybe you should find some help because I don't think it's safe for you to be marching around this house with a four year old daughter, and your friend who you almost raped, when you have extreme anger issues."

"Yeah, well it's not my fault that the only one who could calm me was Katniss…but she's not here now, is she? She's dead!" I'm so angry, I could hit something. My hands are shaking so hard, I clench them to make them stop. I end up digging my nails into my skin so hard that my hands start bleeding dark red blood.

Gale glances at my hands briefly, but he just turns his gaze back to me sadly. I'm surprised because he was so angry just a few seconds ago, and now he's sad…?

"Katniss isn't dead." He says quietly, looking down at his shoes. "She's alive, living with Annie and her son."

All of a sudden, my body stops shaking, and my legs feel so weak that I have to sit back down on the couch. What? How can she be alive?! Then it clicks: Delly must have wanted to go to District Four to check up on Katniss. Has she been lying to me all of these years?!

"Gale…you better not me fucking around with me…"

"I'm not." Gale sits down in the chair Haymitch was previously sitting in, and runs a hand though his hair before resting his elbows on his legs and sighing deeply. "I have been the one lying to you all this time." He looks up at me, clear pain in his eyes. "Katniss was in a really bad place when she came to me four years ago."

"What are you talking about?!" I say harshly.

"Just let me speak!" He snaps. Gales cracks his knuckles before continuing: "As I was saying before I was so _rudely_ interrupted…Katniss came to me, broken down, and in tears. She told me that she had threatened the hospital to not tell anybody about her absence. She told them to tell you that she had died…I guess that never got around to you, considering you apparently hear nothing from the hospital…Well anyway, the hospital grew scared shitless, so they packed up and left. Katniss told me not to tell anybody about this…but to tell you someday…So then she leaves to go to District Four, and that was the last I saw her. She's called me of course, but I haven't seen her on person since then." Gale lets out a huff of hot air, and my eyes narrow at him. He's so full of shit!

"You're lying! You piece of shit! You saw her! I know you did!" I stand up, and start pointing accusingly at him. "What about all of those times to went to District Four for business!"

Gale holds up his hands in surrender. "Alright, you got me. I visited her only to convince her to come back. You looked so stressed, and so miserable without her. I knew you need her, and so did Heather. When Delly stepped in, I stopped going because I knew I could never convince her, as stubborn as she is. You seemed to get better as time passed with Delly, anyhow."

"I want to go see her." I breathe. "I need to see her." I stand up, and start to make for the door, but Gale stops me.

"Peeta, do you know what she'll do to me? She will never accept me as her friend again!" Gale looks pleadingly at me, willing me with his eyes not to go.

"Maybe you should have thought about that before telling me that my supposedly dead wife is alive in an exact location." I push past Gale, still gnoring my headache, and his pitiful cries.

"Peeta, I told you to protect you, and make you feel better!"

I stop dead in my tracks. How could learning that your wife went out of her way to get away from you possibly make anyone feel better?!

"Why, Gale?" I ask calmly. I may seem calm on top, but underneath, I am seething. At the hospital, the doctors, at Gale, and at Katniss.

"I consider you a _friend_, Peeta. That's what friends do, they make each other feel better." Gale says lamely. He's trying to fix things, I know, but his efforts are pathetic, and I won't take anymore.

"No, Gale." I murmur only barely audible. However, I say the next part loud and clear: "Friends don't lie to each other, and go behind each other's backs for four Goddamn years." I open the front door, and step onto the porch, slamming it behind me.

I go to lean on the railing, and look at the other houses in the Victor's Village.

This is all too much. Am I really ready to see Katniss again? I could have a flashback when I see her, and be so angry that I end up hurting her badly. Do I want that to happen? She hurt me pretty badly…no, I can't hurt her. Even though she hurt us, I won't be a bad person, and hurt her right back. That's not how you end a fight, that's how you start a war. Then again…people only die in serious battles like wars right? Not a quarrel…

"Maybe I came at the wrong time?" A familiar voice creeps up from behind me, and when I spin around to face it, I see the body that the voice belongs to. The skinny, frail body that was starved for so many years. She has a small bag thrown over her shoulder, and her hair is braided into that braid she always wears.

"Katniss…" I say, frozen to the railing.

"Peeta." She says more strongly than I could have ever imagined she would sound when she came back.

**DUN DUN DUN!**

**I hope you enjoyed! I promise not to keep you hanging for too long! I've just been SOOOOOOOOOOOOO busy, it's not even funny!**

**I've also been pretty upset, but whatever.**

**The next time I don't post in like 2 week or whatever, I'll upload 2 or more chapters, depending on how many weeks it's been since I updated last. **

**I meant to post more than 1 chapter today, but surprisingly, this chapter took me FOREVER to write! I really don't know why…**

**Well, as always, thank you so much for reading, and don't forget to leave helpful/nice review! I read all of them!**

**xoxo,**

**Cocopup 3**


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